Oct. 19, 2006

Sacred Heart Pioneers vs. Central CT State Friday, October 20, 2006 - 3:00 pm EST New Britain, Conn. - CCSU Soccer Field

Sacred Heart Pioneers vs. Quinnipiac Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 2:00 pm EST Hamden, Conn. - Bobcat Field

SHU on the Road for Critical NEC Weekend... The Pioneer women's soccer team plays their final two road games of the regular season this weekend facing Central Connecticut and Quinnipiac in a pair of critical Northeast Conference games. Sacred Heart is currently tied for sixth in the league standings with six points, a win out of fourth and the final NEC tournament spot.

Series vs. Central Connecticut... The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 10-1-2. Central and Sacred Heart have had a rich history of meeting in the NEC Tournament with the Blue Devils twice winning the league championship on penalty kicks (2003, 2004). SHU lost in the first round of the tournament, 1-0, at Central in 2002. The Pioneers lone win came in the 2001 season, a 3-0 victory at home.

Series vs. Quinnipiac... Quinnipiac leads the all-time series, 10-3-4. The Pioneers lead the series, 3-2-3 since SHU's first season in Division I in 1999. SHU is 3-0-2 in the last five meetings including a 2-1 double overtime win in their only postseason meeting in 2001. The last Quinnipiac win came in 2001, 3-2, at home.

Scouting the Blue Devils... Central Connecticut is 6-8-1 and 3-2-1 in the NEC coming into Friday's match-up. The Blue Devils are currently in third place in the league standings with 10 points. Jessica McCavanagh is the team leader and third in the NEC in scoring with 13 points on five goals and three assists. Ciara Crinion has four goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Erin Herd is fourth in the NEC in goals against average allowing just 1.23 goals per game. She leads the conference in save percentage at .833 (50 svs).

Scouting the Bobcats... The Quinnipiac Bobcats are 8-4-2 overall and in a tie for fourth place in the NEC standings with eight points on a 2-2-2 record. The Bobcats suffered a pair of NEC loses last weekend, falling 2-1 at Long island and 2-0 at Wagner. Susan Donovan is the team leader in points with 13, tied with Jessica McCavanagh of CCSU for third in the NEC. She has five goals and three assists on the year. Kate Lissfelt has five goals of her own to go with an assist. Sarah Lusto posts a stingy 0.86 goals against average, second in the league, just 0.01 behind leader Katie Buffa of Monmouth.

Last Time Out... Fairleigh Dickinson got a goal just 3:45 into play and never looked back coming away with a 3-0 win over visiting Sacred Heart Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers fall to 3-12-0 overall and 2-3 in the league with the loss. SHU's Ashley Mocarski made two saves in the loss. The Pioneers best chance to get on the board came on a corner kick attempt in the 20th minute of the first half, when a scramble in front of the net gave way to a Allison Rojas shot, but defender Alex White blocked the ball, cleared it out and ended the opportunity. Sacred Heart held a slight edge in shots, 12-10, but the Knights capitalized on their three first half shots with two resulting in goals.

Gametracker... Fans can follow all the action of select women's soccer games this season by visiting SacredHeartPioneers.com and clicking on the Gametracker link on the Women's Soccer Schedule page. All Pioneer home games will feature the Gametracker feature this season. Friday's game at Central Connecticut will feature gametracker, game time slated for 3:00 pm.

Up Next... The Pioneers will wrap-up the regular season next weekend with a pair of home games against Saint Francis and Robert Morris. Sunday, October 29th against the Colonials will be `Senior Day' with the Sacred Heart honoring graduating seniors Lisa Burbige, Ashley Mocarski, Randie Quaglia, Kaitlyn Franzese and Leslie Morales before the game.

Tough Schedule... The Pioneer's schedule features five teams that participated in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette, Hostra, Boston College and Central Connecticut all made it to the NCAA's in 2005. This season, BC, UW-Milwaukee, Marquette, Maine, Colgate, St. John's, Brown, Hofstra and Monmouth are all currently ranked in the regional polls.

Pioneers in the Northeast Conference... Sacred Heart begins it's seventh season of play in the Northeast Conference this fall. The Pioneers own an NEC title, the 2001 championship won at St. Francis-PA in Loretto, Pennsylvania. SHU beat Quinnipiac, 2-1, in overtime in the semifinals and beat UMBC, 1-0, for the title. The Pioneers are currently riding a five-year streak of NEC tournament appearances, the longest active streak in the league.

Program History... This is the Pioneer's 15th year of competition and their seventh in the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart has qualified for the NEC Tournament five straight seasons and won the 2001 championship qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. SHU posts a 59-69-16 since joining the ranks of Division I in 1999. The Pioneers are 42-26-11 in league play in their six seasons in the NEC. Sacred Heart is 89-120-18 in their 15 years of competition.